


It Would Have Been Worth It

by WriterofGotham



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-16 22:42:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13063698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterofGotham/pseuds/WriterofGotham
Summary: At ten years old he knew he was different, he may not have known he was Galra, but he knew that there was a reason he didn't have friends like other kids did. He was the weird kid that sat alone at lunch. The last one picked on teams. The kid that never got adopted no matter how many foster families he was placed with.





	It Would Have Been Worth It

At ten years old he knew he was different, he may not have known he was Galra, but he knew that there was a reason he didn't have friends like other kids did. He was the weird kid that sat alone at lunch. The last one picked on teams. The kid that never got adopted no matter how many foster families he was placed with. Keith wished that it was different, or that he was a different person. 

 

He once thought he finally made a friend, he remembered Grayson Ellison so plainly. They had been friends and Keith had someone to talk to at lunch, they played on the playground worked on a science fair project together. It was the first time he didn't feel like a freak. Grayson listened to him talk about his foster family and how hard it was to live with strangers every few months. Grayson had patted him on the back and told, "Maybe one day you'll be adopted and have a real family." 

The day after the science project was done he heard Grayson telling the other kids that he was, "So weird I wonder if Keith was even human. He smells like girl soap and pretending to be a friend was the most degrading thing I've ever done. All he ever talked about was not having a stupid family," Keith remembered the cruel laugh that had punctuated his words. 

A wave of cold fury came to Keith's chest he told him how much he wanted a family, only to be made fun of him for it. It settled into anger as the day went by Grayson threw rocks at him when he tried to ask him what was wrong with him. If someone would only tell him he could fix it. He didn't mean to run off everyone he cared about. Why was he so broken that he ran off everyone? Everyone else had a buddy and he was alone. He stayed that way especially after his parents left him. He was a weirdo, even his parents left him.

 

When he turned fifteen the Garrison was an opportunity he wasn't going to waste he studied and made sure to keep in line. He studied every night and he long past gave up the hope of friends. Loneliness had become something he became used too. The teachers at the Garrison were tolerable and he kept out of fights. He longed to fight a few of the students that thought they were better than everyone else. It was after he didn't hold back the urge of fighting that Shiro was assigned to be his mentor. Keith thought that Shiro was like all the other people he knew, so he didn't make it easy on him. Keith wondered if Space missions really were meant for him it was after months of trying, he and Shiro became friends. Shiro didn't give up on him. That was a first for anyone.

Shiro gave him a new love for space and adventure. He was his first true friend, he listened and they could talk about anything. It was strange having someone that cared about him, and Keith liked it. Shiro isn't like anyone else that Keith had ever known. 

He was seventeen when Shiro left and didn't come back. He felt like he had been abandoned for the thousandth time in his life only this time felt like his Mom and then Dad leaving him again. Was he destined to be alone forever? He was angry at the teachers and cadets for believing that Shiro committed, "pilot error". When he demanded that the truth be found out, and punched a commanding officer. He was kicked out. He should have thought things out better. Retrospect is perfect for seeing the mistakes that should have been avoidable.

Keith is eighteen when a spaceship lands near his shack. Shiro, his best friend and brother isn't dead. He fights his way out with cadets that didn't have anything better to do that night. They find lions and a castle ship. Life is actually better in space than it had been in the desert, Red understands him. She understands when he feels left out because Shiro doesn't have time for him anymore, or that he can't bother the him because he's the leader. Shiro isn't the same and he isn't either. 

No matter how much they have changed Shiro still is there for him... when he notices that Keith needs it. Keith makes sure he isn't overly needy, and he doesn't ask stupid questions. His blade is too controversial so he hides the symbol with rags. He can't help, but be a little jealous of Lance and Hunk's big families that miss them. He has a deserted shack that a strong wind could blow over. 

He finds out that he's Galra everyone takes it better than he could have hoped. Allura is having a hard time accepting it, but he can't blame her. He finds it hard not to hate himself. He sees the good that Voltron does, and clings to it. One thing that he didn't mess up.

Shiro goes missing. 

Again.

In some cruel joke the universe threw at him, he is the leader. He never wanted it. The Black Lion isn't like Red, she's not as passionate and protective. Their bond is fresh and she remembers Shiro; wants him back. He knows he isn't a good leader. Keith still tries, but every single decision he makes is second-guessed. It wasn't easy as the Red Paladin, but the Black Paladin title ways on him. 

Shiro returns and it gets worse. He finally accepted being the leader and it feels like Shiro doesn't even believe in him. He sees that the others listen to Shiro even when he isn't piloting Black lion. The Blades offer him a position, and he takes it. The missions are hard, long, violent and nothing like being apart of Voltron. He knows that Lance's math is correct and he knows that he is the extra Paladin. He carefully puts distance between him and the other Paladins. He pushes them away before they can reject him. It's something he learned long ago, family and friends are better for other people. He just glad it lasted as long as it had. 

Memories of good times with the Paladins keep him going on missions. He fights to keep them safe; Voltron needs information so he gets it. 

He was should have known that legendary lions and friends were too good to last. Most of the good things in his life leave him at one point or another, after all.

He knew that the Paladins were important to him: Pidge, Hunk, Lance, Shiro, Allura, and Corran. He thinks about them as he decides that his ship might penetrate the hull. He could save them. Keith knows that the chance is slim, but it's better than no chance at all. Family is worth dying for, and the Paladins were the family he'd always searched for and finally found. 

He aimed the ship at the shield protecting the laser and started to gain speed, it would be over soon, for him at least. He wished that he could see what the planets were like when there were no wars. Wanted to see Paladins doing peace missions, if his sacrifice helped and kept his family safe...

It was worth it.


End file.
